Finally
by Chicka937
Summary: Sometimes all it takes is a few jumbled thoughts, a flower, and 500 yards to make every dream you've ever had come true... R


**Note:** _This is a one-shot. This story is set in Inuyasha's point of view. All characters belong to their rightful owner. Please review(:_

I ran through the forest, my nightly routine. I relished the rush of the wind against my skin as I ran, the occasional sting of brush that scraped against my arm. I tried to let the chilly air take away my stress, my seemingly never-ending anger. But so far, I was failing – miserably at that.

I usually took my nightly run just as an excuse to escape from my little group of friends. Spending as much time with them as I did, I needed a break sometime, didn't I? But tonight, my little detour had a more purposeful meaning. I had to think something through, I had to figure something out.

Never thought I'd hear myself say _that_.

I was warring with two pictures in my head, each beautiful in its own unique way. One image was of Kikyou, my first love, my freshest betrayal. She would always hold a spot in my heart, but something was causing my need for her to dim. It used to be that I always needed her, always wanted to be with her, but now… There were more important matters at hand, it seemed.

The second image? The thought of her made my feet instinctively pick up pace, caused my heart to race and my thoughts to jumble into a horrid mess. _Kagome._ The name that I had learned to trust, maybe even… I couldn't say it. Not yet. That's why I was running tonight; I had to figure this out.

She had stumbled into this world utterly clueless. She had come with nothing more than a blank stare, a confident attitude and a bold mouth. She had driven every nerve I had up a wall, almost one at a time it seemed. Kagome always seemed to find a way to get on my bad side, always seemed to know exactly what to do to get me going.

Yet, at the same time, it was the very opposite.

She had this amazing ability to calm me down, even though I never let her know she was the reason I would drop an argument. Kagome was the first person I ever _truly, entirely_ trusted. She was my first real friend. She was the one who helped me learn how to make friends and rely on other people. She was who I…

Feh, see what I mean about the jumbled mess? I couldn't _think_ her name without my thoughts turning to mush. Pathetic.

I looked up at the moon, guessing it was the nearing of the new moon that was making my thoughts turn all sappy. Stupid human hormones - pointless and troubling.

I pushed myself even faster, determined to leave these annoying thoughts in the dust. I had more important things to worry about than … her.

What was the point though? She would never like me for more than a friend, she would be insane to. I was a monster – scratch that – two monsters rolled into one. I was pathetic in one million and one different ways. I was a weak half-demon 95 percent of the time, an _even weaker_ human for four percent. And the other one percent? I was an uncontrollable, bloodthirsty, murderous demon. Yeah, that's all the rage with the future women these days – or any woman if you think about it.

So as you can see, my chances had dwindled into the single digits a long time ago. Not that I cared cause I obviously don't.

Then, my chances got squished into none, my chances turning into a big old zero. Kouga came along with that cocky mouth and confident persistence. He was a full demon. Hell, the guy was a _prince_! Who could compete with _that_?

"Not me," I muttered to myself and the unhearing night air. Wait, wasn't I supposed to be busy not caring?

I shook my head and jumped into the air, landing on a branch that was all too familiar by now. I laid my head back against the cool, rough bark, one leg dangling over the edge of the thick branch. I let out a dejected sigh, white wisps of breath rolling into and up in the air.

Who was I kidding? I knew exactly where this argument was going, just like I had known where all the other ones would end up. I knew Kagome would never want me. I knew in the end she'd either chose to run off with Kouga or return to her future home and be with that Hojo guy. But I'd out up a façade like I always did. I didn't care where she ended up, as long as she was happy and safe. Maybe there was a part of me that was hoping she'd go with Hojo and be in her own world. And, perhaps, there was another part that was hoping she'd go with Kouga so that I could at least see her – scratch that – if I ever saw Kouga and knew he had her when I couldn't, he'd end up dead somewhere. But you didn't hear that from me.

Then, there was this small, microscopic part of me that hoped for all I was worth that she would stay with me and our group of friends. She didn't even have to be mine, just that she would stay here and we could continue our little adventures, so that we could continue as a group of friends. But I knew how selfish of me that was; I knew how unfair it was for me to wish away her freedom. She could choose whatever she wanted; it was her choice.

I gritted my teeth and balled my hands into fists. My claws dug small places into my hands, but I didn't stop squeezing my hands until I felt the trickle of blood down my hand. Damn emotions. Stupid, stupid human emotions.

I knew I felt something for Kagome. God, I had known for so long now. But what made the difference was my unwillingness to accept those feelings. I refused to be hurt again. She wasn't stepping foot inside my heart. I wouldn't let her in long enough to leave a mark, let alone trample it into little pieces. I knew very well she had the power to do that. I just wouldn't let her exercise it. Even if it was the last thing I did.

I groaned, bringing my hands to my face. I had gone out on this little run to try and figure my thoughts out, not run in circles with them. I was failing, like I did every time I tried to figure out my feelings for Kagome. Or just Kagome herself, at that.

Suddenly, there was a rustle of leaves and the softest crumple of grass underfoot. I pushed myself against the tree trunk, allowing the coverage of the overhead limbs to conceal me from whatever – or whoever – was coming. I held my breath as I watched Kagome come out from the tree line, her hand rubbing her eye sleepily.

What was she doing out at this time? And alone at that! I continued to watch as she stopped a few yards away from the tree, squatting so that she could inspect the yellow flower that stood alone in a patch of grass. She smiled sleepily at the lone flower, gently plucking it at the base of the stem before standing and continuing to walk over to the tree.

When she made it to the tree trunk, she slid down the trunk, landing with the softest thud. She gave the quietest yawn before staring at her flower. She took one of the soft yellow petals between her fingers before plucking it off and letting it flutter to the ground.

"He loves me," she said, almost silently. And that was saying a lot with my sense of hearing. She took another petal between her fingers, plucking that one off as well. "He loves me not."

I was beyond confused. Okay, so maybe that wasn't that hard to do, but... oh shut up. What was she doing to that flower? And why was she saying that? I remembered vaguely of Sango telling me it was something girls back in Kagome's time did, some way of deciding whether or not the person you had feelings for returned those feelings. It seemed extremely pointless, as if a flower could foretell your love life.

But if it were true, whose feelings was she trying to discover? Hojo's? Kouga's?

Mine?

I let curiosity get the best of me, watching as she continued her pattern around the flower. When she came to the last petal, she sighed, almost happily, and whispered, "he loves me."

She looked up, probably going to look at the stars, but instead of silver glittering stars, her eyes made contact with my golden ones. Her eyes widened as she took it in, her mouth opening to release an inevitable scream.

I jumped from the tree, covering her mouth before her scream could be heard. At this hour, all of Japan would hear it. Once my hand was clasped over her mouth, I stared her in the eye, watching as she visibly relaxed when she realized it was me. Not some monster.

Then again, there wasn't much difference in my opinion.

When I was confident that she wouldn't scream, I took my hand away from her mouth. I let out an annoyed sigh, shaking my head disapprovingly.

"Kagome, you really need to stop – Gah!" I rubbed my head as she slipped her shoe back on her foot, her lips pouted in an annoyed sneer. I guess it was better than what she usually did. I was grateful she had decided to use the wrath of her shoe, not her mouth.

"Sit Boy!"

Never mind.

I instantly was pulled to the ground as the beads around my neck lit up a faint purple and suddenly I was welcomed by a mouthful of dirt and grass. I sat up as soon as possible, spitting out grass and other things I didn't want to know the origin of.

"What was that for?" I yelled, sending her a hateful glare.

"That was for spying on me!" She retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I wasn't spying on you!" I said, defending myself. "I was here first!"

"So," she said slowly, her eyes growing big. "You were there the whole time?" Her eyes darted from the scattered petals on the ground and back to me. A slight blush rose onto her cheeks for some reason. Why did it matter if I had seen her talking to a flower?

"Feh, why does it matter?" I asked, sticking my nose in the air indignantly. She didn't say anything, just continued to stare at me with wide eyes.

"So, tell me." I said after a few moments of silence. "Who were you talking about?"

That caused the faint pink color on her cheeks to combust into a full red. She looked away from me, trying to hide her blush by avoiding my gaze.

"Why does it matter?" She asked, quoting me from earlier.

"It doesn't," I said harshly, ticked that she wouldn't tell me. Then again, I hadn't given her much of a reason _to_ tell me. Oh, well. I still wanted to know. "But I still want to know."

She looked at me from the corner of her eye, her blush calming down a little bit. I could tell she was debating with whether or not to tell me, but I was impatient.

If it was about me, I wanted to know, and I wanted to know now. If it was about any other man, God knows she could never tell me and I'd be just fine. I knew if she told me she loved me, it would answer all the questions I had wasted precious nights pining over. Yet, at the same time, I knew if she told me it was anyone else, I could never look at her the same.

"If I tell you," she said slowly, obviously choosing her words carefully. "You have to promise you won't hate me."

Yep, that totally confirmed every fear I had. It wasn't me, and she was just making sure I would still talk to her after she broke my heart. I looked away from her brown eyes and nodded, unsure of myself because I knew I wouldn't be able to look at her anymore after she told me.

She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her thick black tresses.

"And one more condition," she half-whispered. "You have to run out 500 yards."

I raised my eyebrow at her. So, she wanted me to be as far away as possible, then break my heart? Guess she didn't want to see my face after she told me either.

"Why?" I asked her.

"You want to know, don't you?" She shot back, an edge to her voice; an air of apprehension.

"Duh," I snorted back as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

"Then listen to me and go out there. 500 yards."

I grumbled and stood up, hating where this was going.

"Call me when you're out that far," she instructed, and I gave a roll of my eyes and a dismissive wave of my hand.

"Yeah, yeah." And with that, I took off into the forest.

See the things I did for her? I knew she was going to break my heart, yet I still allowed her to send me out into the middle of nowhere of this forest. Like I've said countless times. Absolutely pathetic.

I ran as fast as I could, eager to put the needed distance between us. When I felt that I had gone out far enough, I made myself stop and I turned back to face her direction.

"Okay!" I called, a few birds tweeting and flying away in shock.

I waited anxiously for her reply, my heart beating a million beats a minute. My ears twitched nervously, trying to pick up any sound from Kagome.

"You ready?" She finally called back, her melodious voice echoing through the forest.

"Yeah!" I replied, growing annoying with her stalling. There was a short pause of midnight silence, before her reply came echoing through the trees and brush. The reply made my heart stop for a full beat and automatically sent my feet running back to her as if she was air and I so desperately needed to breathe.

"_You."_

As I got closer to where she had been, I could hear her footsteps and her heavy breaths as she ran away. So that's why she had demanded the separation? She wanted a head start for her get away because she was embarrassed – or scared, one? She was stupid to think I couldn't catch her under normal circumstances, let alone with the added boost of my desperation to reach her, to tell her that she didn't need to be scared to love me because… because…

I felt the same way.

I could finally see her as she ran, stumbling awkwardly over the brush and limbs. She burst through a clearing and picked up the slightest but of speed before I managed to catch her. My arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her to me completely. I stopped running and set her on the ground, my arms still holding her waist. Her face was flushed and her eyes were watery.

She was scared of what I would say. She was scared _I_ would break _her_ heart. Oh, how naïve could she be?

Her breaths were fast and shallow as she recovered from her failed escape. Slowly they calmed down, but as her breaths slowed, I could hear her heart speed up. I could vaguely see the lake that glistened down the bank from us, the moon that illuminated the water. But what I noticed the most was the way the moon lit up her face, the beautiful moon light multiplying every beautiful feature on her face.

"Why did you run away?" I asked finally.

"I-I didn't want to see your face when you found out. I couldn't take you rejecting me, not again."

"Again?" I asked, louder than I'd meant to. "When have I rejected you?" Yeah, for real. When had I been stupid enough to turn her down, better yet, when had she asked or told me anything like this? At least while I was awake, I mean.

"Kikyou," she said, almost whispering. "I could never compete with her."

She set her forehead on my chest, forcing herself not to meet my gaze, almost as if she knew that when she said her name, something would happen. Of course she would know, she was my best friend.

I took both sides of her face with my hands, making sure to be extra aware of my claws. I felt so awkward. I had never dreamed of touching her like this, at this time, under these circumstances. Could someone wake me up? Miroku are you listening? Now would be the best time to wake me up!

"You couldn't compete with her," I stated slowly. Her face fell and I quickly back pedaled. "Because there's no competition when it comes to you."

A smile lit up her face and her brown eyes sparkled in the moon light. And at that moment, I couldn't hold back anymore. I leaned down slowly, double checking every move, accounting for every reaction she made.

Her heart sped up and her face flushed as she realized what was happening. But before I could pull back, she stood on her tip toes and met me half way, our lips meeting in a sweet kiss.

When she pulled back, her eyes seemed glazed over. I smirked at her, feeling overly confident.

"Remind me again who it is you love?" I asked her, pulling her against me in a hug.

I could feel her smile against my chest, her heart pounding at her close proximity to me.

"You, Inuyasha. I love you."

I planted a soft kiss on top of her head, her black hair tickling my sensitive nose. I knew exactly how I felt for her, even though I had probably figured it out a long time ago, I just never admitted it to myself. So, for the first time, both to myself and to her, I whispered,

"I love you too."

And there, we sat there holding each other. The moon shone down on us in a heavenly luminescence. I could hear her heart beat again, louder than ever, and I smiled. It was music to my ears, the most beautiful song ever. Because she was finally mine, and her heart was beating like that for me. It didn't matter who or what I was, who else wanted her or whoever else was involved. She was mine.

Finally.


End file.
